by David Jackson, USA TODAY

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

You know things are tense when people start talking about nuclear war.

A Russian television anchor has raised global eyebrows by noting in a commentary that Russia is "the only country in the world capable of turning the USA into radioactive dust."

Speaking on the Rossiya 1 news channel, Dmitry Kiselyov - who has supporters in the Kremlin - delivered a diatribe against critics of the Ukraine incursion with a picture of a mushroom cloud behind him.

At one point, Kiselyov attributed President Obama's increasingly gray hair to worries about Russia's nuclear arsenal.

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently appointed Kiselyov to lead an official news agency.

"Kiselyov is no stranger to controversial statements. In the past he has used his show to argue that Russia's anti-gay propaganda laws should go further, and that homosexuals should be banned from giving blood or donating sperm. ...

"He may seem extreme, but Kiselyov apparently has the blessing of the Kremlin: He's been selected to head the new Russian state media conglomerate, Rossiya Segodnya, that is due to replace the well-respected Ria Novosti. He also has a point. Russia is still a major nuclear power, with an estimated 8,500 nuclear warheads, more than the United States."